ed_moore's reviews
289 reviews

The Golden Key by George MacDonald

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

“They knew that they were going up to the country whence the shadows fall”

‘The Golden Key’ is an allegorical fairy tale about the journey of two children, Tangle and Mossy, through a fantasy land of floating fish in effort to reach a place in which it isn’t entirely clear. It is full of religious Christian allegory and moral, and abides to some Fairy Tale tropes but at the same time feels separated from the stereotypical Fairy Tale. It does however lack in a lot of plot explanation and character development - alike to Grimm’s things do just happen with no buildup or reasoning. 
Though despite all the confusion the ending lines gave me goosebumps. They were so unclear and possibly meaningless but reading through a lens of religious allegory were harrowing. 
Burmese Days by George Orwell

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dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

“They build a prison and call it progress”

Orwell’s ‘Burmese Days’ follows British timber merchant Flory who is stationed in British-colonsied Burma. He regularly frequents the European Club and spends much of the novel campaigning for the admittance of his native friend Dr Veraswami, met with much objection. Orwell shines a light on the injustices of British colonialism in Burma, heavily inspired by his own time stationed there as an officer and consequently this is a novel full of exploitation and racism. 

Though Orwell’s motives are to critique colonialism and the racist system of power in place, I don’t think it was done in the greatest of ways. Women are extremely sexualised and Orwell uses the N-word what must be upwards of 50 times and yet there are occasions where ‘fuck’ is censored to ‘f——‘. The line therefore becomes a little blurred between what is a point of criticism that Orwell is highlighting his opposition to and what is problematic writing, especially knowing his track record in the writing of female characters. 

Beyond the problematic elements, the plot was just fine. Flory’s relationship with Elizabeth had no real grounding and the love between them is practically non-existent. It is a very fractured and distracted relationship in terms of the plot but also it was just generally unconvincing. A greater issue is that absolutely none of the characters were likeable. Every last one was a douchebag to some extent and I wasn’t rooting for any of them, protagonists or antagonist, which left me as a reader with no idea where I stood in relation to the novel. 

‘Burmese Days’ was far from my favourite of Orwell’s works and having now read all of his six novels, to only say I enjoyed three of them (though two are some of my favourite books ever) is not overly convincing for the man I consider to be my favourite author.
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A Brief History Of Time: From The Big Bang To Black Holes by Stephen Hawking

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informative medium-paced

2.0

“The world is really just a flat plate on the back of a tortoise… But it’s turtles all the way down” 

Stephen Hawking’s ‘The Brief History of Time’ is an accessible access point to physics, explaining black holes, stars and the birth of the universe. I say accessible, it is supposed to be and can tell for most it absolutely would be but my brain is really not geared to science and for the most part it went straight over my head. The few areas I did understand were quite interesting though. There were also moments of humour that I appreciated, especially a book on particles being written by Alpha and Beta and co-authored by a guy who had a name similar to Gamma just for the jokes. Hawking also did a great job of discussing religion in an ambivalent way, his scientific theories neither confirming or denying it. 

My rating is by no means reflective of the books authorial style or value, it just was far too clever for me and I didn’t understand much of it. Its theme really just wasn’t particularly within my interests either.
Poetics by Aristotle

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informative slow-paced

2.25

“The function of the poet is not to say what has happened, but to say the kind of thing that would happen”

This is now the third time I have read Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ for my degree (though my first time logging and reviewing it because this time I took a physical copy of it out of the library and hence was a book in my hands), and despite having hope for the idea of ‘third times the charm’ my experience was unfortunately no different. In ‘Poetics’ Aristotle compiles the key elements of what he deems makes up a Tragedy, and this has since been seen as a manual on how to write tragedy despite it being written afterward much Greek Tragedy, therefore the early plays were never complying to Aristotle’s ideas. He praises Homer endlessly as almost an infallible poet and other playwrights and poets are relegated to trying to match his work and always failing, and whilst Homer was brilliant this does seem quite harsh. It did however make me a little saddened reading Aristotle’s many examples of plays, plots and characters to back up his points and myself frequently not recognising them, only to quickly google and realise how much has been lost to the sands of time, living only in these references to the works.
Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

“This is the quiet of the dead, the kind of quiet coloured by the creaking of rope and the rush of water and wind, all the things that aren’t the quiet that makes the quiet so loud it hurts”

The setting of Andrew Joseph White’s ‘Hell Followed With Us’ is simply incredible. The story follows a trans boy, Benji, who has been turned by a far right Christian extremist group who brought upon ‘the flood’ on judgement day and committed the genocide of nine billion ‘heretics’ into a monster called the Seraph that’ll bring them religious salvation. The dystopian backdrop to the story was so captivating and the world White creates around his band of rebel queer teenagers who try to exist in this reality against the force of The Angels is so harrowing yet fantastically crafted. It is however very unsettling and White does not hold back with the gore and body horror. Be warned this book is full of mutilation, disease, creatures that are made up from decaying corpses and general violence, but it does add to the horrifying religious apocalypse that White creates. 

The story is primarily told through the perspective of Benji as he battles with being accepted as a boy and the monster that is growing inside him, however there are occasional other perspectives that didn’t feel overly necessary. I would have been happy with a consistent story from Benji’s perspective. It also often shows only the aftermaths of violence and battles rather than the events themselves which I felt was a small loss. The story however was captivating and the dystopian worldbuilding some of the best I have ever read. 
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The Eumenides by Aeschylus, Walter George Headlam

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dark informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

“Give joy in return for joy, one common will for love, and hate with one strong heart; such union heals a thousand ills of man”

‘The Eumenides’ is Aeschylus’ depiction of the first murder trial documented within Greek myth, Orestes’ murder of his mother Clytemnestra in revenge for her murder of Agamemnon. Here Athena plays judge with Apollo serving as Orestes’ defence and The Furies as prosecution, the chorus being made up of Furies being absolutely the most interesting chorus of ‘The Oresteia’ trilogy. The depiction of the trial was interesting, especially given how little its format has changed since 436 BCE. I also appreciated the perspectives of The Furies and their attempt to avenge Clytemnestra however at the end of the day the play was frustrating due to the continued sexual double standard and godly plot armour received by Orestes where I just wanted to see the man devoured by the Furies. Ultimately as presented across the trilogy it is concluded, by no other than Athena, that the lives of men are more valuable than that of women…
The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

“No man can go through life and reach the end unharmed” 

‘The Libation Bearers’ follows the return of Orestes to the house of Atreus in his mission to avenge the murder of his father and therefore punish his mother Clytemnestra. The large majority of the play was a frustrating read, given more than half was Orestes and Electra saying they desire revenge and praying for their success, and then the sexual double standard and irony in their desire to avenge Agamemnon but not care remotely that Agamemnon was only murdered by Clytemnestra because he killed their sister and his daughter… In addition to this, the chorus of slave women who were taken in the destruction of Trot at the hands of Agamemnon all desired to see his murder avenged, which is quite some classical Stockholm Syndrome. This difference in standards was infuriating and there were a fair few unlikely conveniences in the play such as Electra seeing a hair somehow in the soil, and then immediately recognising it as her brothers. The scene where Clytemnestra faces Orestes however was so powerful and heart wrenching, it was brilliantly written and translated and can imagine how powerful and captivating it would be on stage. 

Though my goodness I cannot wait for Orestes to be torn apart by Furies that little bitch.
Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

“The most arresting odes to slumber are spoken by those who can’t have it; the proximity of someones resting place can be a strange comfort when you can’t find any rest on your own” 

M.L. Rio’s ‘Graveyard shift’ is a novella about 5 ragtag insomniacs who gather in an abandoned graveyard by night, one evening discovering a freshly dug hole and over the course of that night vowing to get to the bottom of its mysterious appearance. It was a gripping story with such an atmospheric and exciting setting. It was full of intertextual literary references that I always enjoy, and oddly many associations to Scooby Doo. It was a bit untidy at times but with a lack of resolution that really attests to the endless hours of wakefulness that don’t have the resolution of the days conclusion in slumber. I feel like for a novella the cast of characters was a little too large, there not being a chance to explore many of them to the extent I would’ve liked, but they are each unique and believable nonetheless. 

The highlight of ‘Graveyard Shift’ was absolutely M.L. Rio’s authors note and essay that concluded the book discussing her own sufferings with insomnia and its relationship with academia. This made me feel so seen (along with its representation within the novella) as an aspiring academic who also suffers with such. Ironically, reading another experience with a lack of sleep and the loneliness that comes in the early hours are the hours I am never seen, stuck with my thoughts and loneliness until the sun rises again. For this reason ‘Graveyard Shift’ was so comforting in a way, and made me feel a little less alone concluding the book as the time creeps beyond midnight. 
Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

“The wrath that forced my thoughts on this fierce law the doom of treason and the flaming death is past”

‘Idylls of the King’ is a collection of 12 of Tennyson’s narrative poems recounting Arthurian legend. It looks at the rise and fall of the Round Table, sparked by the events of the quest for the Holy Grail. I had limited knowledge on Arthurian myth prior to reading this and therefore struggled with it, it didn’t make much sense in many places and was difficult to keep track of the narrative. Honestly the knights followed themselves aren’t particularly chivalrous and flawed in many perspectives, yet so often heralded. 

There is often discussion about a lack of an English Mythology, and whilst Arthurian myth should fill this gap the stories, at least the ones as presented and retold by Tennyson, support this lack of a mythology as they didn’t seem to have the same resonance or memorability as the likes of Greek Mythology. I do however believe ‘Beowulf’ has its place as a English myth, and Tolkien’s stories in time have potential to join this mythology, especially due to their inspirations from Arthurian myth that should found our mythology. On their own however, something seems missing. 

My greatest struggle with ‘Idylls of the King’ is the similarities I could draw between such and Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’, especially in the tradition for knights to attack one another unprovoked. If there was less of this and a lot more communication a lot of fatalities would easily be avoided.

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

“For the last long stretch, for the home stretch, the stretch that we know is blind to end sometime in the rattle of the door latch, in the sudden firelight and the sight of familiar things greeting us as long absent travellers from far overseas” 

Grahame’s classic children’s tale ‘The Wind in the Willows’ is the story of four unlikely friends, a rat, mole, badger and toad, who live in a world alongside humans and interact with such. The dynamic of this is a little confusing as it seems some animals are human in quality, and others are just animals and treated that way by the protagonists, even to the extent that they will still happily eat chicken for example. 
The primary story of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ follows Toad in his careless passion for motor cars and the trouble this obsession alongside his huge ego leads him to. From the readers perspective, he is ver much redeemed by the quirk that he is a toad who likes driving cars otherwise he is a character of extremely dislikable qualities, though I am not sure wether he is supposed to come across this way. He is selfish, arrogant and whiny and the greatest negative of this is how much it takes away from the characters around him, for the other three lose much of their charm as they are solely used as support anchors for toad, repeatedly forgiving him and sacrificing all they have and their narrative roles for Mr Toad. 

That being said, this is a children’s book about the misadventures of four animals and hence I don’t think I should be too heavily diving in to the development or lack there of of each of their personalities. I didn’t actively dislike the book, but as oppose to other children’s classics I have recently read it just didn’t really stand out nor have any sort of charm to it.